Online food delivery service provider Swiggy said it has raised $1 billion in its latest funding round, led by South African internet giant Naspers Ltd.

Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings Ltd, Hillhouse Capital and Wellington Management Company took part in the funding round, together with Swiggy’s existing investors, DST Global, Meituan Dianping and Coatue Management.

Swiggy, based in Bengaluru, is valued at a little over $3 billion after this funding round, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The company did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment on the valuation.

Representational image. News 18

Swiggy said the latest fund-raising round is the "single largest in India's food technology sector to date".

"As India's appetite for online food ordering grows, Swiggy will use the funds to bring more quality food brands closer to consumers and address gaps in supply through delivery-only kitchens under the 'Access' initiative for restaurant partners," Swiggy said in a statement.

It added that the fresh capital will also be used to hire talent, especially for machine learning and engineering roles across mid and senior levels.

Swiggy is focussed on further strengthening its technology backbone and focus on building a next-generation AI-driven platform for hyperlocal discovery and on-demand delivery, it said.

"As we add more firepower to our vision of elevating quality of life for urban consumers by offering unparalleled convenience, we are pleased that visionary global investors share our purpose and have made such a significant investment in our future," Swiggy CEO Sriharsha Majety said.

In June this year, Swiggy had raised $210 million in funding led by Naspers and DST Global. Since then, the company has expanded to 42 additional cities and doubled its gross merchandise value. It has close to 1.2 lakh active delivery partners on its platform.

Founded in 2014, Swiggy has over 50,000 restaurant partners. The firm, which runs a mobile-based application and a website for food-delivery services, currently operates in more than 50 cities.

It competes with homegrown Ola-owned Foodpanda, Uber’s food delivery service, and China’s Ant Financial Group-backed Zomato, which is valued at over $1 billion.

Swiggy has raised a total of $1.26 billion since it was founded in 2014, including the latest round.